THSH: What's On — Classical events

Totally Tchaikovsky!

Wed 26 Nov Symphony Hall

Tchaikovsky’s struggles with his personal demons left a mark on many of his works, and the dramatic Fifth Symphony of 1888 is one of the pieces in which positive forces ultimately seem to triumph over the darkness. Composed during the same year, the fantasy overture Hamlet is one of his three works based on Shakespeare plays. Andris Nelsons is also joined by his compatriot Baiba Skride for the tuneful concerto that represents the lighter side of Tchaikovsky’s art, and which they recorded together with the CBSO in Birmingham last year.
Andris Nelsons - conductor Baiba Skride - violin City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Hamlet - Overture 19’ Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto 34’ Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 47’

Centre Stage Baiba Skride (violin) and CBSO Players

Thu 27 Nov Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

Baiba Skride (violin) and CBSO Players Brahms: Clarinet Quintet

Birmingham Bach Choir: Bach Mass in B Minor Brandenburg Baroque Soloists

Sat 29 Nov Town Hall

Completed in the last year of his life, the Mass in B Minor is the consummate expression of Bach’s genius. With masterful interplay between chorus, orchestra, and soloists from the beseeching spirals of the opening Kyrie to the final climactic Dona nobis pacem this is choral music at its greatest.
*Birmingham Bach Choir* *Brandenburg Baroque Soloists* *Paul Spicer* Conductor *Celeste Lazarenko* Soprano *Christopher Ainslie* Counter Tenor *Sean Clayton* Tenor *Vojteh Safarik* Bass

Walsall Music Service

Sun 30 Nov Symphony Hall

Walsall Music Service has formed a choir of over 500 young voices to sing exciting and well-loved seasonal music at these concerts. Also featured will be the winner of the West Midland's (BBC WM) Pop Stars Competition; the Walsall Young Musician of the Year; Young stars from the our Dance & Music Theatre; The Beacon Wind Band and World Music Groups. £5

Orchestra of the Swan: Mozart V Salieri

Sun 30 Nov Town Hall

Despite a lack of evidence, the legend that Salieri poisoned Mozart out of jealousy has been fixed in people's minds by the film Amadeus. The older composer could certainly spin a good tune, but judge for yourselves whether he comes anywhere near the genius of two of Mozart's most delightful. 1.30pm free pre-concert talk Post-concert Conversation Club in the Circle Bar 15 mins after the end of the performance. "It's just how music should be." Birmingham Post £8.50, £12.50, £16.50, £19.50 Choir benches £6.50 60 plus £7.50, £11.50, £15, £17.50 Orchestra of the Swan is a Town Hall Associate Artist.
*Orchestra of the Swan* *David Curtis* Conductor *Diane Clark* Flute *Helen Cole* Harp

A Taste of France

Tue 2 Dec Symphony Hall

Widely acknowledged as an expert conductor of 20thcentury music, Ilan Volkov includes three French masterpieces in a programme full of orchestral colour. Debussy’s famous portrait of the sea in all its various moods finds a more exotic counterpart in the 1912 ballet by Paul Dukas (of Sorcerer’s Apprentice fame) which tells of a Persian man’s quest for the Flower of Immortality. We are also joined by the Nazareth-born pianist, who scored a success here in Beethoven two years ago, for two contrasting concertos: Ravel’s jazzy Left Hand Concerto and a new work by Jordanian composer Saed Haddad. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Premiere! - Saed Haddad’s Piano Concerto Conductor Ilan Volkov and soloist Saleem Abboud Ashkar talk to Stephen Maddock about tonight’s UK premiere.
*Ilan Volkov* conductor *Saleem Abboud Ashkar* piano
*Dukas* La Péri 19’ *Ravel* Piano Concerto for the left hand 20’ *Haddad* "Alternative World-versions" for Piano & Orchestra (UK premiere) 11' *Debussy* La Mer 25’

Britten Sinfonia at Lunch - Dec 2008

Thu 4 Dec Town Hall

Proms Night Spectacular! British Police Symphony Orchestra

Sat 6 Dec Symphony Hall

A Boy Was Born Britten at Christmas

Sun 7 Dec Town Hall

Britten is widely regarded as the leading British composer of the 20th century. Ex Cathedra begins its festive celebrations with a performance of his best-loved Christmas repertoire - A Boy Was Born, St Nicolas and A Ceremony of Carols - in collaboration with Ex Cathedra's fellow Town Hall Associate Artist, the Orchestra of the Swan. The concert also features Ex Cathedra's Academy of Vocal Music. £30 (£27.50), £23.50 (£21), £15 (£13), £8.50 (£7) _“Textures glittered throughout”_ *The Birmingham Post* Visit Ex Cathedra's website by clicking "here":http://www.ex-cathedra.org/
*Ex Cathedra Choir* *Orchestra of the Swan* *Conductor* Jeffrey Skidmore *Tenor* Benjamin Hulett

Centre Stage Sakari Oramo (violin) and CBSO Players

Tue 9 Dec Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

Sakari Oramo (violin) and CBSO Players Mozart: Horn Quintet K.407 Bruckner: String Quintet

Quartet for the End of Time

Tue 9 Dec Town Hall

Four world-class soloists come together to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of France’s greatest composers - Olivier Messiaen. His visionary _Quartet for the End of Time_ is an uplifting and spiritual work, and will be accompanied by specially commissioned visuals from artist Kathy Hinde. It is preceded by Ravel’s Piano Trio - tinged with serene disquiet and written as the world descended into the carnage of the First World War. *BBC music magazine’s editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:* _"Messiaen premiered his Book of Revelation-inspired Quartet at a Polish prisoner of war camp in 1941 in front of 5,000 fellow prisoners. Widely seen as his finest work, it’s the perfect introduction to a composer who brought French music kicking and screaming into the 20th Century.”_ "BBC Music Magazine":http://www.bbcmusicmagazine.com 6.15pm pre-concert talk Tickets £5-£20
*Steven Osborne* piano *Alban Gerhardt* cello *Viviane Hagner* violin *Kari Kriikku* clarinet *Kathy Hinde Messiaen* visuals
*Ravel* Piano Trio in A Minor 20’ *Messiaen* Quartet for the End of Time 50’

Ultimate Romantics 1: Mahler and Wagner

Wed 10 Dec Symphony Hall

In two concerts this winter, some of the most extravagant and passionate music of the late romantic era comes to Symphony Hall. The second act of Wagner’s Tristan contains one of music’s greatest love scenes. The adagio from mahler’s unfinished tenth Symphony is similarly in love with life, but it is the heartfelt last testament of a man about to be torn from the world. Few young conductors have received the plaudits that have been awarded to Vladimir Jurowski, new Principal Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and music Director of Glyndebourne Opera, who conducts the first concert in this series. 6.15pm pre-concert talk Tickets £5-£37.50
*London Philharmonic Orchestra* *Vladimir Jurowski* conductor *Anja Kampe* Isolde *Robert Dean Smith* Tristan *Sarah Connolly* Brangaene *Laszlo Polgar* Marke *Stephen Gadd* Melot/Kurnewal
*Mahler* Adagio from Symphony No 10 22’ *Wagner* Act II from Tristan and Isolde 75’

Century!

Thu 11 Dec Symphony Hall

Today the musical world salutes the centenary of the birth of the great American composer Elliott Carter, the only major composer ever to reach his 100th year and still be creating new work. His new horn concerto is a perfect example of his art, and is played here by the CBSO’s own Elspeth Dutch. Tonight’s concert is actually a triple celebration of December 1908: the great French composer Olivier Messiaen was born just a day before Carter, and Elgar’s magnificent First Symphony had been premiered just a week before that. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - Premiere! - Elliott Carter’s Horn Concerto Anthony Burton introduces the music of this great American survivor.
Sakari Oramo - conductor Elspeth Dutch - horn City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Messiaen: L’Ascension 19’ Carter: Horn Concerto (UK premiere) 11’ Elgar: Symphony No. 1 52’

Great Romantics

Sat 13 Dec Symphony Hall

Last Christmas Sakari Oramo brought us all some seasonal cheer with highlights from The Nutcracker; this year it’s the turn of another of Tchaikovsky’s great ballets. It shares the first half with possibly the most popular of all piano concertos, played by the Russian pianist with whom the CBSO has made an acclaimed series of Rachmaninov recordings. Elgar said that his First Symphony expressed ‘a wide experience of human life with a great charity (love) and a massive hope in the future’ how better to celebrate the festive season?
Sakari Oramo - conductor Nikolai Lugansky - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty (highlights) 10’ Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 32’ Elgar: Symphony No. 1 52’

A London Symphony

Wed 17 Dec Symphony Hall

For our final tribute to Vaughan Williams in this 50th anniversary year of his death, we are joined by one of his leading interpreters for a rare hearing of the original 1913 version of his ‘London’ Symphony. This extraordinary work was subsequently dedicated to his friend George Butterworth, who unlike Vaughan Wiliams never returned from the trenches of World War I - as a result we only have a few pieces, of which tonight’s is the best known, to remember him by. The dazzling 1920s concerto by Vaughan Williams’ teacher Ravel completes the programme. 6.15pm Pre-concert talk - “A Symphony by a Londoner” English music specialist Michael Foster explores the genesis of Vaughan Williams’ colourful symphony.
Richard Hickox - conductor Kirill Gerstein - piano City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
Butterworth: Banks of Green Willow 6’ Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major 21’ Vaughan Williams: A London Symphony (original version) 61’

Centre Stage Elliott Carter’s 100th Birthday

Thu 18 Dec Book through our ticket office for CBSO Centre

Elliott Carter’s 100th Birthday Marie-Christine Zupancic (flute) and CBSO colleagues Carter: Enchanted Preludes Carter: Scrivo in Vento Mozart: Flute Quartet No. 4 in A, K.298 Villa-Lobos: The Jet Whistle Bax: Elegiac Trio

Rattle Conducts Schumann

Fri 19 Dec Symphony Hall

Earlier this year, Sir Simon Rattle picked music by Schumann as one of his eight choices on Desert Island Discs. Now he turns his attention to two of the composer’s most popular works: the fresh and vibrant _Spring Symphony_ and the _Rhenish Symphony_ - a joyous celebration of the Rhineland, the awe-inspiring gothic architecture of Cologne Cathedral and, of course, the river itself. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _Fresh from his role as one of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s Artists Laureate 2008 for the European Capital of Culture, Sir Simon Rattle returns to his former stomping ground here in Birmingham. This evening he’ll be conducting the OAE, an orchestra he’s been closely associated with for many years now. Rattle is one of just six conductors who’ve been key in the development of this self-governing orchestra established more than twenty years ago. It was he who took the OAE to Glyndebourne for the first time in 1989 with Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro; the orchestra is now a regular visitor to the East Sussex festival._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-£45
*Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment* *Sir Simon Rattle* conductor
*Berlioz* King Lear overture 15’ *Schumann* Symphony No 1, Spring 32’ *Schumann* Symphony No 3, Rhenish 33’

A Christmas Carol

Sat 20 Dec Symphony Hall

It simply wouldn’t be Christmas without the CBSO’s celebrations, hosted this year by presenter Carol Smillie and featuring the CBSO and its massed choirs. Packed with festive music and your favourite carols, plus stories, readings and plenty of audience participation, these concerts are the perfect way to kick-start your Christmas holidays and put you in the festive spirit.
Simon Halsey - conductor Carol Smillie - presenter City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus & Youth Chorus City of Birmingham Young Voices City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra

King's College Choir at Christmas

Sat 20 Dec Town Hall

What could be more evocative of Christmas than the magical sound of the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge? This world-famous choir visits Town Hall with a concert of Christmas music ranging from majestic baroque masterworks by Praetorius and Schütz through to quintessential favourites from the Nine Lessons and Carols, including Darke’s _In the Bleak Midwinter_ and Joubert’s _There is no Rose_. *Classic FM’s Anne-Marie Minhall says of tonight’s recommended concert:* _It’s thanks to Henry VI that the Choir of King’s College Cambridge exist. The last king of the Lancastrian dynasty envisaged daily singing in his splendid chapel and to this day that remains the main purpose of the Choir. Tonight a musical festive fayre is promised including Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols, a work based on traditional carols. Other seasonal favourites on the menu include Harold Darke’s beautiful In The Bleak Midwinter and John Joubert’s There Is No Rose._ "Classic FM":http://www.classicfm.co.uk Tickets £5-30
*Choir of King’s College Cambridge* *Stephen Cleobury* director
Programme includes works by *Praetorius*, *Schütz*, *Poulenc*, *Rachmaninov*, *Vaughan Williams*, *Joubert* and *Howells*, with organ solos.

What's On — Classical events